The Truth Is Cold
by TheDoctor'sAmazingCompanion
Summary: When Rowena Jessica Ward met the skinny, green-eyed and messy haired Harry Potter in Diagon Alley, she never thought that her life would change much. How very wrong she was… Fighting trolls in bathrooms, getting past three-headed dogs and smuggling dragons! But she's fighting an even bigger, internal quest of her own: who is her father!
1. Prologue

The Truth Is Cold  
A Harry Potter Fanfiction

**Summary: **When Rowena Jessica Ward met the skinny, green-eyed and messy haired Harry Potter in Diagon Alley, she never thought that her life would change much. How very wrong she was… Fighting trolls in bathrooms, getting past three-headed dogs and smuggling dragons! But she's fighting an even bigger, internal quest of her own: _who is her father?!_

* * *

**So, as some of you might have noticed, this is not from Rowena's point of view. I promise that from the next chapter onwards, it will be, this is just an introduction to the mother and father.  
Also, please don't be too harsh on Valerie - I know she may seem slightly like a Mary-Sue but I promise she won't be. We'll be seeing quite a lot of her and I hope that you can get over her first appearance. She's actually a very strong witch. Anyway, enough of my ramblings, I hope you enjoy the chapter.  
The only reason this is in italics is because it is a series of flashbacks and ****_~8~ _****means a line break. I can assure you that the rest of the chapters will not be in italics.  
Finally, the Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor am I making any profit from this. All credibility goes to the amazing J. K. Rowling. I'm just borrowing them. However, I DO own Valerie and Rowena.**

* * *

Prologue

_"Sirius, oh god, Sirius, I'm sorry, it was an accident, a one-night stand, I swear!" The woman tried to plead but the dark haired man, Sirius shook his head in anger._

_"And what if this baby's not mine, Valerie? What then?" He questioned and Valerie faltered, tears streaming down her face._

_"… I don't know, but please, we can work through this!"_

_"Would you be able to give the child up for adoption, if it was mine?" It wasn't Sirius that posed the question but the other male, his voice harsh._

_Valerie stared at him in shock, through her tears. The shake of her head was adamant. "I don't know how you could even suggest that." She snapped but the man didn't flinch. "Wouldn't you even want to know your child?"_

_The man's emotionless gaze was enough to answer her question._

_~8~_

_"Have you done a DNA test yet?" Sirius glared at the man as Valerie lay asleep in the hospital bed._

_"She only gave birth an hour ago. Let her rest."_

_"I haven't got time to let her rest. I need to know now."_

_"Oh of course, you have to rush off back to your precious __**Dark Lord**__. We'll let you know somehow. Just make sure to send us a sign when we're __**allowed**__ to." Sirius sneered and the man glared before storming away, out of the Ward._

_~8~_

_"Sirius… Padfoot, please, say something!" Valerie begged as Sirius' steely grey eyes looked down at the paper. _

_"You can find somewhere else to sleep tonight. I don't want you to come back to the house. And don't __**ever**__ call me Padfoot." He threw the piece of paper onto the bed where Valerie saw what it said and cried._

_~8~_

_"The child will be better off without me. I'll pay for maintenance monthly but don't tell her who I am." He saw her waver and his gaze hardened. "I mean it Valerie. She'll be best off not knowing who her father is." He looked down at the baby girl, who was sleeping soundly. She had inherited her mother's sky blue eyes, lips and nose, as well as her high cheekbones but still the resemblance to her father was there; she had tufts of black hair and the same pallor that her father did._

_"Have you decided on a name?" The father asked, as he gently reached into the cot to straighten his daughter's blanket._

_Valerie smiled, as she looked at the small girl._

_"Yeah."_

_"Would you care enough to let me know what the name was?" The father asked, a sarcastic lilt to his voice._

_Valerie's grin only grew as she met her blue eyes with his black ones. "Rowena Jessica Ward."_


	2. Chapter 1

**Hello! What? Another update so soon? Why yes, yes there is :) Now, the only reason this is such a fast update is because of how short this chapter is and I apologise but from the next chapter onwards, things are going to get a lot more exciting! I hope, anyway... I don't know, my brain just kind of gets away from me sometimes...  
First off: THIS IS NOT A HARRY/OC FIC! I am 100% committed to Hinny and I don't want to disrupt that! It is also not a Ron/OC fic either... As of yet, I don't know who she's going to be with. **

**Secondly, review replies: (Just for the record, I'm saying repl****_ies_**** as if there was more than one... As a matter of interest... There wasn't.)**

**Lady Elizabeth Of New York: I realised that AFTER I posted the first chapter... I've removed it now, I think :) Thanks for reviewing, I'm sorry this chapter isn't very long but I hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: If I was writing this, would I be the owner of Harry Potter? No? I didn't think so.**

**On with the story!**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

Rowena sighed as she walked, hand in hand with Harry, away from his parents' graves and towards her own. She sat down by her mother's grave, touching the engraving with a gentle hand.

_Valerie Sinead Ward, born 13__th__ May 1960, died 18__th__ June 1996  
Brave until the very end that died protecting her daughter, as a true Gryffindor._

Rowena couldn't help the tears that poured down her face, as she read the engraving. She was there when her mother died, saw the light go out of her eyes, spent the next few hours crying over her body, only to be dragged away by her father, who was also crying, or the best he could do anyway, which was to stop being snide and sarcastic.

It was hard, after she lost one of the most important in her life, to carry on and she almost didn't… That year was a difficult one for her and she struggled, more so than anyone. She still had her father and her uncle but that didn't make up for the gap that her mother had left.

Harry gripped her hand tightly, silently letting him know that she was there and she smiled tightly at him, wiping the tears from her face.

"C'mon, we should go meet the others." Rowena said, as she looked over at her father's grave. He'd only died a few weeks ago and she still had barely come to terms with it – she could only just about bear to look at it. She took a deep breath and reached out a hand to lay a lily on the top of the gravestone. It was all she could do manage but Harry seemed to understand, as he rubbed circles on her back in a soothing manor.

They walked away from the graves, and out of the Graveyard, both lost in their own thoughts.

* * *

**Again, NOT a Harry/OC fic! Nothing against them, this just isn't one of them!**

**Please review! I love to hear feedback!**


End file.
